Until fall of 2000, Cynthia was undiscovered--had not written a script. Yet, before the age of thirty, while living in a small town, while holding down a full time job, she has done what a lot of people anywhere would like to do at any age--she wrote and sold her first screenplay without an agent, The Disappearance of Daniel Klein; and, snagged a movie deal with Rory Culcin, McCulley Culcin's younger brother, as the star.

Hagan, dressed in a black shell and pinstripe pants--looking like L.A. Law--pushes her blond, shoulder length hair out of her face, and says."Nobody tells you in high school you can be a screenwriter. They tell you that you can be a doctor, lawyer, psychologist--they do not tell you about all these wonderfully creative jobs in the world. These jobs are not as different as people make them out to be."

Cynthia might be the first person to deny that she is a celebrity--at least in her small town--but she really is one. She recently optioned a film (screenplay) The Disappearance of Daniel Klein with Filbert Steps Productions in New York, and may soon option another one, My Brother's Keeper. Cynthia's scripts have been requested by production companies owned by Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Streisand, and Sophia Coppola, just to name a few.

"The Disappearance of Daniel Klein is about a 'Jewish orphan, Daniel Klein, who is best known for his mismatched eye color and his love of magic tricks. Life changes for Daniel and his young friends when Nazi doctor, James Vindil takes a dark interest in Daniel's rare physical trait. Child star, Roy Cullcin is set to play Daniel Klein in the lead.' You might remember him from Signs with Mel Gibson and Joaquin phoenix."

Doesn't she live in New York or LA you ask? No, she lives in Summersville, West Virginia; she graduated from Nicholas County High School, and works at Chameleon Health Care as a clinical psychologist. She moved to here from Cleveland with her father, Danny Hagan, when she was twelve.

"You just have to take some risks or you will be stuck where you are. I love movies, I love reading screenplays and I love studying film. My brother, Tim, teases me about the extremes I go to. Last time he called, I was watching Million Dollar Baby and taking notes. I spend a lot of time in front of my wide screen TV. I like to feel like I am in a theater. I'd live in a theater if I could."

At lunch, I read Hagan's freshly written script--it is a page-turner. Late that evening, Cynthia rushed to make the last minute deadline for the Internet contest "Project Greenlight" sponsored by actors Damon and Affleck.

She was among 7,500 screenwriters who uploaded their scripts to the online contest. The Disappearance of Daniel Klein survived until the 250-script-cut. Cynthia said, "I was upset that I didn't make the cut. I cried a little. Greenlight had a one million dollar budget. As a period piece, it was too expensive to produce. I'm over the crying thing though. I've been desensitized to rejection I think. You can't take it personally."

"Project Greenlight" gave me a goal. It was my first screenplay. I had written a chapter for a book about five years ago and got bored. The writing of Daniel Klein took about four months. However, preparation took just as long. I read 13-15 books on that period. It's important to put yourself in the world you are going to write in. When I sat down to write Daniel Klein I was in that place...it is putting yourself in that other place."

Cynthia placed in the top ten for the online contest, "Produce Me 2002," with 5000 entries. Placement gave her credibility and the studios a good reason to read her.

"I think you have to catch companies on the way up. You're definitely going to be disappointed if you send your screenplay to "Steven Spielberg." I purchased The Hollywood Creative Directory with all the addresses for production companies. I just started sending query letters to everyone. I started in the A's and got to the F's before I made a sale."

My question: If I live in a small town do I have a chance to become a screenwriter?

Cynthia says, "Absolutely." You have to think as if it is a matter of when not if. You just have to be patient and work until your time comes. You can write from anywhere. They [her managers] really didn't think it was an issue and thought my location made me the "writer from West Virginia," which made me unique. Just be willing to travel.... A lot."

"I don't have an agent. I have a manager. An agent is more of a salesman. A manager looks at developing your career. You have to be optioned first; once you have an option you get a manager. There's a catch 22, though. No one will read your script until you have a manager and no manager will represent you unless you are optioned. So, I suggest first time writers attempt to sell it themselves. Contests are also a good way to gain notoriety and get people to read your work. Also remember about first impressions. Don't send a manuscript that's not ready. "

Advice: "Writing is not a get rich quick scheme. I think if you write just for money it's not going to work. You have to love it. I lose time. Sometimes it will have been six hours and it seems like twenty minutes. It's not always easy though. Sometimes I write for twenty minutes and it seems like six hours. I love movies, love reading screenplays. There are 56,000 films registered each year at writer's guild and 3000 American movies made...you have to think one of those could be mine. I can't imagine that this is all there is."

Cynthia will sign on at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, March to finish her PHD in Media Psychology, which will enable her to move into consulting work for the entertainment industry. Fielding is a distance learning program that caters to mid career professionals. It's the only distance-learning program accredited by the American Psychological Association and was the first University in the world to offer a PHD in Media Psychology.

"I'm just as excited about this as my film. One of my instructors teaches at Harvard and he has a research lab there that conducts research on media's affects on children. I can't wait to get involved in that. I don't think I could just write. I bore too easily."

Cynthia says her film is now in development--getting money and stars attached like Culkin. Next, pre-production begins. This stage includes rehearsals, stage construction, and costume design. Cynthia says, "It's not uncommon for a film to be in development for five years or more. Ray was in development for fifteen years, Broke Back Mountain floated around studio desks for seven years, and Walk the Line took nine years from conception to production." Her movie option is three years into the process.

"I have framed quotes in my writing room," says Hagan. "One of my favorites is by Lillian Hellmann the playwright "It's a sad day when you realize that it was not time, nor fortune, nor accident that kept you from things, but you that kept them from yourself. There is also a quote in the bible that my dad and I like.... "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." It really sums up how I feel about writing should be."

To find further information about The Disappearance of Daniel Klein, visit the website,

http://www.filbertsteps.com/Resources/F1%20filbert%20stepsa.swf, go to "In Development" or "New."

NOBODY TELLS YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL YOU CAN BE A SCREENWRITER says writer, Cynthia Hagan. Hagan tells how she did it, breaking a few rules along the way.

Until fall of 2000, Cynthia was undiscovered--had not written a script. Yet, before the age of thirty, while living in a small town, while holding down a full time job, she has done what a lot of people anywhere would like to do at any age--she wrote and sold her first screenplay without an agent, The Disappearance of Daniel Klein; and, snagged a movie deal with Rory Culcin, McCulley Culcin's younger brother, as the star.

Hagan, dressed in a black shell and pinstripe pants--looking like L.A. Law--pushes her blond, shoulder length hair out of her face, and says."Nobody tells you in high school you can be a screenwriter. They tell you that you can be a doctor, lawyer, psychologist--they do not tell you about all these wonderfully creative jobs in the world. These jobs are not as different as people make them out to be."

Cynthia might be the first person to deny that she is a celebrity--at least in her small town--but she really is one. She recently optioned a film (screenplay) The Disappearance of Daniel Klein with Filbert Steps Productions in New York, and may soon option another one, My Brother's Keeper. Cynthia's scripts have been requested by production companies owned by Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Streisand, and Sophia Coppola, just to name a few.

"The Disappearance of Daniel Klein is about a 'Jewish orphan, Daniel Klein, who is best known for his mismatched eye color and his love of magic tricks. Life changes for Daniel and his young friends when Nazi doctor, James Vindil takes a dark interest in Daniel's rare physical trait. Child star, Roy Cullcin is set to play Daniel Klein in the lead.' You might remember him from Signs with Mel Gibson and Joaquin phoenix."

Doesn't she live in New York or LA you ask? No, she lives in Summersville, West Virginia; she graduated from Nicholas County High School, and works at Chameleon Health Care as a clinical psychologist. She moved to here from Cleveland with her father, Danny Hagan, when she was twelve.

"You just have to take some risks or you will be stuck where you are. I love movies, I love reading screenplays and I love studying film. My brother, Tim, teases me about the extremes I go to. Last time he called, I was watching Million Dollar Baby and taking notes. I spend a lot of time in front of my wide screen TV. I like to feel like I am in a theater. I'd live in a theater if I could."

At lunch, I read Hagan's freshly written script--it is a page-turner. Late that evening, Cynthia rushed to make the last minute deadline for the Internet contest "Project Greenlight" sponsored by actors Damon and Affleck.

She was among 7,500 screenwriters who uploaded their scripts to the online contest. The Disappearance of Daniel Klein survived until the 250-script-cut. Cynthia said, "I was upset that I didn't make the cut. I cried a little. Greenlight had a one million dollar budget. As a period piece, it was too expensive to produce. I'm over the crying thing though. I've been desensitized to rejection I think. You can't take it personally."

"Project Greenlight" gave me a goal. It was my first screenplay. I had written a chapter for a book about five years ago and got bored. The writing of Daniel Klein took about four months. However, preparation took just as long. I read 13-15 books on that period. It's important to put yourself in the world you are going to write in. When I sat down to write Daniel Klein I was in that place...it is putting yourself in that other place."

Cynthia placed in the top ten for the online contest, "Produce Me 2002," with 5000 entries. Placement gave her credibility and the studios a good reason to read her.

"I think you have to catch companies on the way up. You're definitely going to be disappointed if you send your screenplay to "Steven Spielberg." I purchased The Hollywood Creative Directory with all the addresses for production companies. I just started sending query letters to everyone. I started in the A's and got to the F's before I made a sale."

My question: If I live in a small town do I have a chance to become a screenwriter?

Cynthia says, "Absolutely." You have to think as if it is a matter of when not if. You just have to be patient and work until your time comes. You can write from anywhere. They [her managers] really didn't think it was an issue and thought my location made me the "writer from West Virginia," which made me unique. Just be willing to travel.... A lot."

"I don't have an agent. I have a manager. An agent is more of a salesman. A manager looks at developing your career. You have to be optioned first; once you have an option you get a manager. There's a catch 22, though. No one will read your script until you have a manager and no manager will represent you unless you are optioned. So, I suggest first time writers attempt to sell it themselves. Contests are also a good way to gain notoriety and get people to read your work. Also remember about first impressions. Don't send a manuscript that's not ready. "

Advice: "Writing is not a get rich quick scheme. I think if you write just for money it's not going to work. You have to love it. I lose time. Sometimes it will have been six hours and it seems like twenty minutes. It's not always easy though. Sometimes I write for twenty minutes and it seems like six hours. I love movies, love reading screenplays. There are 56,000 films registered each year at writer's guild and 3000 American movies made...you have to think one of those could be mine. I can't imagine that this is all there is."

Cynthia will sign on at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, March to finish her PHD in Media Psychology, which will enable her to move into consulting work for the entertainment industry. Fielding is a distance learning program that caters to mid career professionals. It's the only distance-learning program accredited by the American Psychological Association and was the first University in the world to offer a PHD in Media Psychology.

"I'm just as excited about this as my film. One of my instructors teaches at Harvard and he has a research lab there that conducts research on media's affects on children. I can't wait to get involved in that. I don't think I could just write. I bore too easily."

Cynthia says her film is now in development--getting money and stars attached like Culkin. Next, pre-production begins. This stage includes rehearsals, stage construction, and costume design. Cynthia says, "It's not uncommon for a film to be in development for five years or more. Ray was in development for fifteen years, Broke Back Mountain floated around studio desks for seven years, and Walk the Line took nine years from conception to production." Her movie option is three years into the process.

"I have framed quotes in my writing room," says Hagan. "One of my favorites is by Lillian Hellmann the playwright "It's a sad day when you realize that it was not time, nor fortune, nor accident that kept you from things, but you that kept them from yourself. There is also a quote in the bible that my dad and I like.... "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." It really sums up how I feel about writing should be."

To find further information about The Disappearance of Daniel Klein, visit the website,

http://www.filbertsteps.com/Resources/F1%20filbert%20stepsa.swf, go to "In Development" or "New."